Philippine National Table Tennis team Rank # 2 player Isaias Seronio, who was
banned for life by the Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (TATAP) for
an alleged violation during the World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) in
Moscow last May, has broken his silence.
In an interview with sports journalist Robbie Pangilinan, Seronio bared
everything, including allegations of anomalies committed by TATAP's
vice-president and de facto head Jose "Dodong" Ortalla Jr. who accused Seronio
of not paying his hotel accommodation, local transportation, meals,
accreditation IDs and other expenses in Moscow.
Seronio admitted having approached Ortalla in his desire to join the World
Championships. In an agreement that Seronio will pay for his own expenses—air
fare, pocket money, visa processing, among others, Ortalla allowed him to join.
"Walang ginastos ang TATAP sa akin (TATAP did not pay for anything)," Seronio
said.
However, Seronio was surprised when Ortalla asked him to pay for the fees of
another player, Richard Gonzales, as well as for uniforms, entrance fees, and
even the latter's website, with the implication that Seronio could not play at
the tournament if he does not comply.
The Palaro ng Bayan 2000 Men's Singles champion and best player paid for his
co-player's fees but not for the uniforms and the website, thinking that he had
no obligation to do so.
Seronio arrived in Moscow two days before the rest of the Philippine delegation
did, to get a feel of the city, to get enough rest before the competition, and
to pay for the USD 100 entry fee of the Philippine team out of his own pocket.
The bronze medallist for the Doubles and the Team rankings in the 2005 Asian
Table Tennis Championships knew that the International Table Tennis Federation
(ITTF), the host of the WTTC, reserved rooms at its partner Cosmos Hotel for the
team. Because Seronio knew the rooms are free for official delegates, he checked
in at the start of the tournament. He learned that TATAP reserved rooms for the
long list of delegates that Ortalla submitted to ITTF.
It turned out that these people learned that their stay will not be for free so
they backed out but the reservations were not cancelled. The rooms were never
used but the hotel billed the team 4,000 euros which nobody could afford.
The team members were locked out of their rooms. "Natakot talaga ako, kasi yung
bagahe ko, yung laptop ko, camera, lahat ng gamit ko andun (I was scared because
my baggage, laptop, camera and all of my things were there)!" Seronio said.
The hotel only opened the rooms when Ortalla signed a promissory note taking
responsibility for the hotel bill. Seronio, afraid that the lock-out might
happen again, got his things and left the hotel.
At the tournament, Seronio only got to play once and he learned that ha was an
"alternate" player. He revealed that Ortalla did not let him play "kahit na
sinunod ko ang mga conditions niya at mas magaling ako kesa sa at least one of
the players na na-field ng Philippine team (even though I followed his
conditions and I'm a better player than at least one of the Philippine team
players)," he said.
Among the four players, Seronio was the best, ranking # 2 at the national
selection. After the team lost and one of the players went home, Seronio was
allowed to play twice at the consolation tournament. He won the three matches he
competed in.
Seronio also found out later that one of the other players, Ting Ledesma, also
paid for Gonzales' visa fees. "Either Dodong paid for the fees twice, or he
pocketed one of them," Seronio said.
When he got home in Manila, Seronio found out that Ortalla banned him from all
TATAP and ITTF sanctioned tournaments for life. He also read a press release at
the TATAP website stating that he put the Philippines in a bad light.
"I was depressed for a week. Kung matuloy `to (If this pushes through), my
professional table tennis career is over! I've devoted my life to table tennis.
I'm # 2 in the National Team! After agreeing to everything Dodong demanded,
ganito ang gagawin niya (this is what he'll do)?" Seronio complained.
Ortalla has also been accused of turning TATAP into a smuggling operation,
asking players for payment to be included in official table tennis delegations
for competitions abroad, especially in the USA. These players become TNTs
(tago-ng-tago) in other countries, negatively affecting legitimate table tennis
players whose visa applications are denied.
Seronio likewise refuted the memo at the TATAP website instructing players and
coaches not to go to USA or Japan for tournaments anymore. He said it's just
Ortalla's way of covering up for the anomalies. "Ayaw na lang nila mapahiya at
magsayang pa ng oras ang mga table tennis players `pag pumunta sila sa embassy
at irereject sila dahil suspected TNT din sila (They just don't want the players
to to be put to shame and waste their time going to the embassy and being
rejected because they are also suspected TNTs)," Seronio said.
The 28-year-old player who has been into table tennis since third grade, said
that his conscience is clean and his only mistake was caring too much about the
sport that he let Ortalla fool him.
TATAP Chairman Alvin Carranza, Sec Gen Oskie Santelices and former president
Victor Valbuena are willing to help lift the ban on Seronio. Seronio also asked
TATAP's board of directors to take action about the anomalies and pleaded to the
Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee to investigate
and solve this issue. #
